I took my MR2 to autocross

For pretty much an entire year my MR2 sat in my driveway accumulating moss while I would clean the interior of mold once in a while and fight an unwinnable fight against accumulating water on the inside. Then eventually I put this on my large "backburner" task list that I made several months ago and worked my way through it, eventually getting back to the MR2. I recharged the battery and cleaned the (moldless) inside and was able to drive it a few feet so I could give it the first wash it's had in ages.

The paint has been oxidized after about 30 years of neglect so it's finish was a sort of dull matte red. But it's single stage paint, and after 30 seconds with a buffing wheel I discovered that underneath the car's paint job still had a lot of life left in it. So I borrowed my friend's buffing wheel and got to work.

First I took a clay bar to the entire car's surface, this gets out a lot of contaminates that are still in the paint and also smooths the surface down a ton. Then I spent probably 3 days polishing the car in stages. I was worried that I would buff through all the way to the primer, but in reality I had to perform multiple passes on parts of the car because the paint was so oxidized. I would polish one part, then wipe off the polishing compound and wait for it to dry, revealing that the paint was still hazy underneath. The first day I buffed most of the car but learned I went way too fast, and had to redo one whole side of the car as it looked even worse than before. 

Then I renewed the very expired tags and got a very overdue oil change. Thankfully an older guy working at the oil change shop knew what the car was, one of the attendants had never seen a mid-engined car before. 

AND THEN AFTER ALL THAT. I woke up at 6:30 in the morning to drive an hour and change to Bremerton in a 33 year old car. There are no cupholders in the MR2 so driving with coffee requires sticking it right in your lap and articulating the clutch and brake very carefully. I arrive to a foggy old runway that has been repurposed as a motorsports park, when in reality it's the same tarmac but with some barriers set up to facilitate drag racing. 

Autocross is the most approchable form of legal motorsport. You have a controlled environment that you can push and find the limits of your car, overstep them, and not hurt yourself or break any equipment (hopefully). Creating this enviornment means renting the park for a day, setting up cones, brining timing equipment, negotiating with the insurance companies. Etc. What this means is that you will commit an entire day to driving about 5 minutes. But that also means spending all day around fast cars with people who are responsible adults who are also delightful and fun and want to see you, yes you, go a little bit faster and are cheering you on. 

This autocross event was put on by the Pacific Northwest Region's Porsche Club Of America. This meant that the Porsches went first and they brought some very expensive iron. Multiple 718 GT4RS es. This is the top of the line Cayman with a very expensive spoiler and special paint. A few GT3s, including some I had only seen in videogames. A $200k Porshe 964 turbo. Someone also brought a Chevy Bolt, a VW Passat wagon, and the local college brought their Formula SAE car for a few runs. The event was very well run, as they brought portapotties and the local Lyons club brought a food cart and made people breakfast and lunch.

The Formula SAE team was a fun bunch. They were from Western Washington university. For UW's program it requires being in the right major, doing interviews, and getting selected for the program. For Western Washington anyone can join, and as a result they beat many other more well heeled teams from bigger universites, placing 17th out of several hundred entrants. 

Part of going to autocross means standing for a few hours chasing down cones or being a corner worker. I didn't mind this as it let me watch some very expensive cars go by driven by people who know how to drive. I watched as distant rainclouds blanketed the hills a few miles away and correctly predicted when we would get rain, for how long, and that it would dry up later. 

Then finally it was our turn to drive. I was in the TO class, or "Time Only" which is a catch all class for drivers not competing for points in the yearly PCA tournament. I got four runs, which is more than other autocross events I've heard of. Not only that there were instructors who would ride along and give you pointers, and in hindsight I wish I had got over my pride and let one teach me something! I did all my runs alone, if I return next year I will certainly ask one for help.

Most autocross courses are set up to not exceed 70 miles an hour, so you typically do the entire thing in 2nd gear. This means you do not have to worry about shift points, downshifting, or anything other than braking and accellerating and steering. 

My first run was at half throttle trying to get a feel for the race track and was a very lazy 80 seconds, the same time as a serious Porsche took even after spinning out and stopping. I realized that I would have to, yes, use the entire gas pedal. So the next run I floored it for probably the first time since I got my MR2 and felt an incredible fear as I experienced the full power of this 33 year old 120hp Camery engine. 

The MR2 is a mid-engined car, which means the weight distribution is about 50/50 and it handles the road incredibly well. The cars have a reputation for snap oversteer due to the engine being behind the driver, but I didn't experience that at all, if anything when I overdrove the car I was getting understeer - with the front wheels scrubbing because I was turning them too far for the speed of the car. During my third run I had to remind myself to "be brave" as I started a few runs. My times improved. I was incredibly hyped to get 69 seconds, and then 67 seconds. I was pushing deeper and deeper into the turns and trying to get more speed.

However, I wasn't hitting the cones or spinning out. While this might seem like I was doing a good job, I felt like I wasn't going fast enough and finding the limit of the car. Once I found the car's limits I would know how fast I could go into a turn and not spin out and thus maximize my velocity, but you don't know until you step over the edge. So by not failing, I was not learning as much as I could. So again, should I return next year, I will make it my goal to spin out at least once. 

But the car was doing everything I asked it to and then some. It did not spin out. I could feel the rear end start to get loose and could correct it easily. It did things I didn't know were possible. In day to day driving everyone operates so far within the limit that losing control is quite difficult. Even at extreme speeds loss of control is something one has to try to do. For the final run I almost got the rear end loose once, after a high speed turn, but quickly corrected and was able to make the next gate without missing a beat. I ended the day with a 66.4 time, slower than a fellow in his Honda Civic Si sedan. However, I went faster with each pass, so I beat myself. 

The MR2 did what I asked it to, and then I asked for more, and then a little bit more, and then finally it was like "actually that was too much". In extreme turns I could feel the back end swing out but with enough time to correct it. With a mid-engined car you can't brake or decelerate when this happens, as it'll send the momentum to the front and the back end of the car swings to the front. This is called "snap oversteer" and the way around this is to counter-steer and plant the gas to send that momentum back to the rear wheels for more grip. You can use this to one's advantage by getting a little sideways momentum and planting the throttle, accellerating through a turn. I can do this in Gran Turismo but in real life you are getting pressed into your seat and feeling real deal g-forces, so I'm not as brave. 

I think the MR2 needs about 80 more horses to be "fast". If I were to upgrade it I would start with some chassis braces, then maybe new tires. 80 more horses means I would have to swap the entire engine, as the humble 5SFE in it will not take turbo or supercharging very well. I fantasize about a BEAMS engine or a Honda K20. But I will probably keep the 5SFE as it's dead reliable and puts up with the neglect. 

But the MR2 is happiest at about 40mph on twisty backroads. The day was over and I skipped doing some "fun runs" because I had about 5 hours of sleep and was getting sleepy and had to drive back to Seattle. The sun was shining through the glass t-tops of my car as I put on some Fusion Jazz and drove over the Tacoma Narrows bridge. 

I am glad I have this car. I would hear my dad complain that he never bought is 'dream' car, a Honda Del Sol. My mother has a similar want for a MGB. I heard these and was determined to have at least one "fun" car at some point and avoid the regret. One day in 2019 I was on 2 hours of sleep and browsing craigslist and found this MR2, it didn't run, but it was $2000 and had no rust. One new distributor later and it was driving again. I replaced the coolant with help of a local friend (a 6 hour job!) because when I first drove it the temperature gauge was pegged in the red. Then I replaced the clutch with the help of the $2000 covid check. I replaced an air temp sensor to get the engine to idle below 2000 rpm. It feels like an old watch, all the plastic bits clunking along with satisfying heft. 

I think that cars like this don't exist anymore, but on my drive to Autocross, as I was crusing through a sleepy neighborhood, I saw another SW20 MR2 parked in someone's lawn. Prestine and in a deep purple paint job. There's a few of us still out there.